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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · arm · pit · firm · capital · trunk · tear · ball

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. capital — a city
  5. firm — steady
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — farmland
  9. firm — decided
  10. pit — in a race
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. capital — money
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ball — a dance
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ball — a great time
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. firm — a company
  24. trunk — of an elephant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com